Page 62 of A Flame of the Phoenix

“Sounds easy enough.”

“We have to find it first.”

Nik dragged her away from leaning around the bend of the alley. His flat look met her ire. “I have other things I could be doing tonight rather than goose-chasing.”

“Please enlighten me.”

His lips pursed, then he was distracted by Asari brushing against his side.

“She’s really protective of you,” Faythe mused, patting the large wolf lightly.

“I don’t know why.”

Faythe was about to comment again when a flicker of light caught her breath.

The Eye of the Phoenix glowed in the Ember Sword. Just for a brief second, but Faythe shot back to peer onto Main Street.

“Isn’t that supposed to indicate—oof!”

Faythe twisted to clamp a hand over his mouth and press them both tightly to the wall. The figure with the amulet passed by the gap into the alley, and Faythe held her breath, not letting Nik go until they were out of range.

When her hand dropped from his scarf-covered mouth and she pushed off his chest, Nik stared at her in irritated bewilderment.

“Well, you’ve sure gotten swifter, and I don’t think I like it,” he grumbled.

She smirked. “The student becomes the master.”

“I wouldn’t give youthatkind of praise.”

Faythe spied some discarded crates and didn’t inform Nik of her plans, knowing he would follow even with a series of curses under his breath. They scaled to the roofs, and she kept low, crawling and shuffling to keep out of sight as she tracked the tall silhouette through the streets.

She filled Nik in on what had happened in the market today and how this thief had her family’s amulet. It wasn’t without renewed anger that it had been taken from Reylan, andthis unfortunate finder of the heirloom was going to feel her wrath for it even if they weren’t responsible. Determination was running hot through her blood at the thought perhaps he might have seen or overheard something that could lead to where Marvellas had taken Reylan.

When they reached the last building, they watched the figure head toward a Valgard camp set up already. They hadn’t attacked or caused any unrest besides the town being wary of the new forces.

“What do you plan to do?” Nik asked.

“I’m not sure yet,” she answered honestly.

It was curious that a soldier in Marvellas’s forces would be bold enough to steal the amulet even if she’d disregarded it. Unless he was someone high up, and it had been a token of some kind.

Her burning curiosity and anger made it a struggle to remain still. They watched him slip into one of the more dominating tents, and from their own setups, Faythe assumed it was where leading parties met.

“We need to get closer,” she said.

“Are you sure? I quite like the view?—”

Faythe was already scaling down with her utmost stealth and silence. With so many enemy guards in black lingering around the camp, littered with small fires in the night, she was testing her luck.

“Did you choose me to come with you because you thought I wouldn’t yell at you for your stupidity?”Nik hissed into her thoughts.“Because you are sorely mistaken?—”

“You said you wanted action.”

She was darting across a dark strip with her pulse in her throat when the nearest guards turned their backs.

Faythe was really tempting fate when she snuck right up to the tent, peeking through a gap. She was right. Just less than adozen fae and dark fae warriors were positioned around a table with a map similar to what they’d set up in their own camp.

She found her hooded bandit instantly as he strode around the group and stopped at the head of the table. He pulled down his hood and face covering then, revealing short, ashy-brown hair and a wide-set jaw. His eyes were blue, and Faythe’s attention caught on them with a skip in her chest.

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